A man supposedly driving under the influence caused an accident resulting in his vehicle, a grey Nissan Altima, to burst into flames. The accident took place at approximately 1:30am in Escondido, a division of San Diego county. Lt. Murphy of the Escondido police department announced that the driver of the Nissan Altima ran a red light while driving north-bound on Broadway at West Valley Parkway, colliding with a west-bound Lincoln Navigator. After the two vehicles pummeled into each other, they came to demolished halt near City hall. The Nissan Altima caught fire with the driver still inside, causing a crisis situation – and that’s when a hero stepped in. The police officer assigned to check out the scene noticed the driver of the Altima was unconscious, surrounded by flames. He immediately ran to aid the man, first attempting to use a fire extinguisher to get it under control. After this proved futile, the police officer did what no one saw coming; he got in the car. He climbed into the flaming car and removed the driver, who was suspected to have suffered a concussion.
Not only was the driver at fault in need of saving, but the driver of the affected vehicle was also trapped. The driver of the Navigator had to be set free using the Jaws of Life, but the passenger was somehow able to get out on his/her own. By a miracle, all three people involved survived the crash, only sustaining minor injuries. They were immediately taken to a nearby hospital after they left the scene – but the driver at fault was later arrested. Based on certain data taken from the event, law enforcement had suspicion enough to detain him for drunken driving. They have not yet released the man’s name as the facts are still under investigation. Currently, the police are still looking for information regarding the accident and those involved. If this sounds like it involves someone you may know, please don’t hesitate to call Officer Bruce “Tony” Masten of the Traffic Division.
Sources:
“Police Officer Pulls Driver From Burning Car” – CBS 8, San Diego